Reviews

Malice: La guerra degli dèi by John Gwynne

centophennni's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

embee007's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

4.5

4 1/2 stars for text & audio

Major spoiler: I would have considered 5 stars if

Daff was killed off. Hate loathe entirely, especially how the narrator voiced him.

"History is of value. If more of us took heed of the mistakes of the past, the future could be a different thing."

I was very confused at first, but then things came together. I still wish there was a character map/family tree so I could see who was who & how people were connected.

"That is my prayer, but what use is prayer to a god that has abandoned all things…"

I'm eager to continue the series, as soon as library holds allow.

"We need examples of mercy as well as harsh justice in these difficult times."

embee007's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

4.5

4 1/2 stars for text & audio

Major spoiler: I would have considered 5 stars if

Daff was killed off. Hate loathe entirely, especially how the narrator voiced him.

"History is of value. If more of us took heed of the mistakes of the past, the future could be a different thing."

I was very confused at first, but then things came together. I still wish there was a character map/family tree so I could see who was who & how people were connected.

"That is my prayer, but what use is prayer to a god that has abandoned all things…"

I'm eager to continue the series, as soon as library holds allow.

"We need examples of mercy as well as harsh justice in these difficult times."

morallyblack's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

 

Sometimes I feel like, I‘ve grown into a hard to please reader, because I smell plot twists from miles away and it’s rare that a book truly surprises me – not with John Gwynne, though. This man just says, “hold my beer, I’m gonna make you fear for every single character on every single page”. This, my fellow readers, is really, really good high fantasy. It has worldbuilding, heaps of it!, it does take a while to find your way in these worlds and for those with an attention span the average tiktok manages to break: if you don’t let characters grow, how are you supposed to care for them? 

Growing characters is the one thing I mainly admire about Gwynne’s style of writing because we get to witness the growth from a barely thinking 10 year old into a world changing hero (or villain …) and we get to be there for every single step. I love watching these characters evolve, get back on their feet after setbacks and traumatic experiences and maybe I understand that some people just don’t have the patience for this kind of building up your storyline, that’s okay, too. But honestly, that’s on you. 

Page by page Gwynne manages to unravel this massive ball of character threads, unveiling the so far maybe only hinted at connections between his characters and he never fails to convince me that I want to know what happens next. Which catastrophe is looming? What kind of revelation awaits me in the next chapter? 

Another thing I truly enjoy in his books is the way he writes friendships, platonic relations and the bond formed between people fighting side by side. It’s not exactly found family as the romantasy readers love it, but somehow … more profound? I’ve come to enjoy this kind of relationship in books a lot more than the insta-friends type of stuff. 

It does take me longer to read these books, but that might also be because I don’t want to miss a single thing, I’m back on the hunt for clues and finally, finally!, I’m excited for books again. This is such a cool feeling and John Gwynne is one of the most reliable authors in delivering this for me. 

 

So, to cut this short: If you’re looking for fast-paced, romantasy style fantasy, you will not enjoy this. If you want proper worldbuilding, plotlines planned for more than a chapter ahead, character building over the lifetime of characters and Ken Follett style of connecting the dots step by step, then this is a must read. 

I’m excited for the next book and also a little afraid. Exactly the way I like it. 

prisoner24601's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

3.75

Fantasy where they throw every single character at you and expect you to follow the story. I really wanted to DNF this book multiple times but I pushed through. It’s a good story. Light and dark, slow descent into tyranny all good stuff

rinbho's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A

5.0

conifrancese's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

lefttoread's review against another edition

Game of Thrones — but better? Absolutely. Malice by John Gwynne was everything I wanted and more. While it has been frequently compared to Game of Thrones, I found myself far more engrossed in this story, for two reasons: Gwynne stays true to the fantasy roots and I felt more connected to the characters in Malice. Unlike Game of Thrones, which I think sometimes forgets that it's meant to be a fantasy story, especially after the first book in the series, Malice embraces its fantasy elements fully.

The characters are what truly captured my heart. Gwynne crafts them with such care, depth, and authenticity that I couldn't help but become deeply invested in their journeys. I found myself rooting for them, feeling their pain, and celebrating their victories. There’s real growth and character development, a sense of purpose and evolution that made me care for them. I genuinely want nothing but the best for most of them, and that's a rare feeling in epic fantasy with multiple POVs. One POV in particular stood out for me though. Corban —what a character! I'm so excited to see where his journey leads next. He is easily one of my favorite characters, and I can't wait to continue this series and follow his path.

The book is filled with everything I love: exquisite world-building, amazing fantasy elements that still feel grounded in a sense of reality, and top-tier character dynamics that had me hooked from the start. John Gwynne has set a high bar with Malice, and I'm excited for the rest of the series.

__sam__'s review against another edition

It's really not a bad book; the writing is good, the characters are pretty interesting, and the plot is sometimes intriguing. But it's just really Christian. Which is fine, but I just don't have any interest in reading a Christian book. And I've looked into it--because I feel bad dnfing a book that I genuinely do not think is bad--and I know the author has said this is inspired by multiple religions, Christianity among them. And John Gwynne said he was especially inspired by Paradise Lost. To me though, this read not as being just inspired by Christianity, it read as having an explicitly Christian narrative--a very basic, black and white, good vs. evil narrative. I also skimmed the descriptions for the other books in the series to see if maybe that would eventually be subverted, but it doesn't seem like it is. 

vi_cam's review against another edition

3.0

3.5/5
It was a good first book in a series of 4. It didn't blew me away but still engaging enough for me to like it and continue the series.

I used the audiobook for the most part for this one, struggled a bit to get used to dialect and english used in the book. Had to Relisten some part because my mind drifted off.